Ak Bars posts fifth straight win, Traktor closes on a playoff spot. Jan 11
Tuesday’s big game saw Ak Bars grab a 2-1 win at Avangard, continuing its winning start to 2023. Elsewhere, the key action affected the race for the Eastern playoffs. Traktor joins eight-placed Barys on 48 points after a 1-0 win at Lokomotiv, while Neftekhimik moves off the bottom thanks to a similar scoreline at home to Amur. In the Western Conference, Kunlun Red Star got its first victory of 2023, coming out on top in Minsk to keep its outside hopes of a playoff place alive.
Safonov strike sinks Avangard
Avangard Omsk 1 Ak Bars Kazan 2 (1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Ak Bars stretched its winning streak to five games with a hard-fought victory over Avangard. The home team welcomed back leading goalscorer Reid Boucher and gave young Andrei Mishurov another start in goal after his winning debut in Sunday’s game against Avtomobilist.
Ak Bars, meanwhile, made minor changes to its roster after winning in Novosibirsk last time out. Dinar Khafizullin and Ilya Safonov came into the team in place of Daniil Zhuravlyov and Kirill Panyukov.
It did not take long for the action to get started. In the first minute, Dmitry Voronkov went around Mishurov’s net and emerged on the slot in a position to send the puck into the net. Avangard’s response was almost immediate. In the fourth minute, Alexander Radulov went to the penalty box but spent just four seconds there before Arseny Gritsyuk’s one timer converted the first power play of the game.
Far from deflating Ak Bars, that goal encouraged the visitor to raise its game. For much of the first period, Ak Bars was on top. However, the closest we came to a goal was at the other end, where Alex Broadhurst narrowly failed to beat Timur Bilyalov in a solo break.
Ak Bars began the second period on the power play, but could not find a way past Avangard’s 21-year-old goalie. The first half of that middle frame was entirely dominated by the visitor, outshooting the Hawks 12-2 and limiting the home team to just one face-off win. However, the host withstood that pressure and gradually got back into the game. The latter half of the second period saw Avangard pose more questions of the visiting ‘D’ and had chances to go ahead during its second power play of the night.
By the start of the third period, the play had more or less evened out. Avangard was getting more time in the Kazan end. Yet, at precisely that moment, the visitor regained the lead. A quick counterattack saw Mishurov struggle to freeze the puck following a shot from Nikita Dynyak. Safonov was the man on the spot, ready to stuff it into the net to make it 2-1.
After falling behind, Avangard stepped up the pace in search of an equalizer. The best chance came late on when Vladimir Tkachyov sent Ivan Telegin clean through on Bilyalov. However, the visiting goalie pulled off a huge save just 30 seconds before the hooter to preserve his team’s lead and maintain Ak Bars’ winning start to 2023.
Mylnikov blanks Loko
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 (0-0, 0-1, 0-0)
Sergei Mylnikov was Traktor’s hero after blanking Lokomotiv to secure a vital victory for his team. The visitor’s narrow win owed much to the 21-year-old’s 33 saves. The result moves Traktor level on points with eighth-placed Barys; the Kazakhs remain in the playoff spot by virtue of winning more games in regulation.
Lokomotiv came into the game looking to boost its own ambitions of a top four finish in the west. Prior to the new year, that looked like a lock with Igor Nikitin’s team solid in second place. However, a run of four straight losses allowed the chasing pack to close in and Loko was eager to stop the rot. The home team blitzed Traktor in the first period, outshooting the visitor 18-8 but failing to get past Mylnikov.
Although the Railwaymen dominated the opening session, the home team suffered a key blow in the closing moments. Pavel Kraskovsky was called for hooking and Traktor got its first power play of the game.
The man advantage did not accrue before the intermission, but it carried into the second period and helped the visitor grab a valuable lead. Sergei Telegin had two attempts on goal, the second of which saw the unfortunate Daniil Misyul deflect the puck across the face of goal where Nikita Tertyshny was waited to rifle home a wrister.
After falling behind, Lokomotiv continued to have the bulk of the possession – in the second period the home team spent 6:25 on the attack, compared to 2:03 for Traktor. However, the home team still could not find a way past Mylnikov in the visitor’s net and went into the second intermission down 0-1.
That pattern continued in the final stanza. Lokomotiv still dominated possession but was unable to convert territorial advantage into good looks at Mylnikov. Almost seven minutes of time played in the Traktor zone resulted in just seven saves from the visiting goalie in the third period. Admittedly, Lokomotiv’s hopes of unleashing a late storm were hit hard by a pair of penalties in the closing stages. However, the day belonged to the visiting goalie, who posted his first ever KHL shut-out in his 20th appearance.
Neftekhimik edges basement battle
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)
The battle at the foot of the Eastern Conference is turning into an epic. Going into today’s game, just three points separated eight-placed Barys from basement club Neftekhimik. Amur was one of the teams in between those two, making this game a crucial clash in the race for a playoff spot.
For Neftekhimik, it had the feel of a must-win encounter. Oleg Leontyev’s team has been in decent form of late, winning four of its last six. However, a disappointing 2-5 loss at home to Vityaz last time out highlighted the work still needed to haul the Wolves into the top eight. Amur, meanwhile, arrived with three wins from four as the Tigers continue their own push for post season.
The home team had the better of the first period. The first big chance came in the seventh minute when Anthony Camara forced a turnover in center ice and went galloping towards Evgeny Alikin’s net. Cam Lee’s slash earned a penalty shot which Camara took himself but failed to convert.
All that happened while Neftekhimik’s Vyacheslav Leshchenko sat for tripping. Later, though, the forward would get the opening goal in the 13th minute. He got on the end of a well-worked move to convert his team’s first power play of the game.
Up to that point, things were evenly matched. Afterwards, though, Amur ran into penalty trouble and had to kill a 3-on-5 situation at one point. That ensured that the stats began to lean towards Neftekhimik in the latter stages of the first period as the home team tried to consolidate its lead.
However, the second period reversed the picture. Chasing the game, Amur was dominant. The visitor outshot its host 13-4 and Neftekhimik had to block a further eight efforts to keep Andrei Tikhomirov’s goal intact.
In the third period, Tikhomirov again proved unbeatable. He finished the game with 31 saves to secure the narrowest of wins for his team. However, it was notable that after ceding so much possession in the middle frame, Neftekhimik was far more assertive in the final stanza, asking several questions of Alikin at the other end.
The home win moves Neftekhimik off the foot of the table, sending Amur to the basement. However, both teams will feel that a playoff place remains within reach as the regular season builds to an exciting conclusion.
Pu’s hat-trick leads Red Star to victory
Dinamo Minsk 2 Kunlun Red Star 6 (0-1, 0-3, 2-2)
The Dragons breathed new life into their playoff hopes with an emphatic win on the road in Minsk. The Chinese franchise is still 12 points back in the race for the top eight, but this success against ninth-placed Dinamo will do much for the mood in Greg Ireland’s team as the season enters the finishing straight.
It was a big day for Cliff Pu. He tested Alexei Kolosov a couple of times early on before opening the scoring in the 14th minute with a shot through the home goalie’s five hole. That was the difference between the teams at the intermission, but things were about to get a whole lot worse for Dinamo.
The second period saw Kunlun score twice in the first five minutes. First, Pu struck again on the power play. Then Tomas Jurco found the net for the third game running to make it 3-0. Kolosov departed the game to be replaced by Konstantin Shostak, and midway through the second period the incoming goalie was beaten by Kyle Wood for 4-0.
Down by four, Dinamo faced a long road back. However, the Bison made the perfect start to the third period when Mark Barberio got his team on the scoresheet after 16 seconds. Shortly after that, Red Star had to kill a penalty when Vince LoVerde sat for a high stick. However, Dinamo was unable to make anything of its man advantage and found itself shorthanded soon after LoVerde returned to the game.
The closing stages brought a flurry of scoring. It was never going to change the outcome, but Pu’s 56th-minute tally brought him a first KHL hat-trick before Vladimir Alistrov and Parker Foo traded late tallies to conclude an entertaining victory for the visitor.
